The book is an edited collection of contributions by a distinguished international panel of academics on the main scientific, juridical, and economic aspects involved in the mitigation and adaptation processes imposed by climate change. Explicitly interdisciplinary, the book transversally cuts through different disciplines offering an outline of a phenomenon that is too often left to specific and sectorial insights. The volume is divided into four parts. The first part introduces the main concepts of the book: climate change and sustainability, wellbeing, and mitigation and adaptation. The second part presents the scientific understanding of climate change and explores some of the more pressing issues driving policy development, such as the melting of the glaciers and the impact on coastal areas. The third part discusses significant experiences in the environmental policies both in the European Union and in the United States of America. The last section explains possible approaches to climate change, by exploring the legal and economic aspects of both adversarial and more lenient approaches towards a more sustainable world. It faces four main issues in the economic and juridical context: consumer behaviors, climate litigations, environmental litigations and the alternative forms of dispute resolution on environmental matters, with particular regard to environmental mediation. Offering a new vision of sustainable policies, this volume will be of interest to researchers and students of environmental policy, resource economics, environmental law, sustainable development, and public administration, as well as practitioners and policy makers working in related areas.

This book discusses the impacts of climate change that are already being felt on every continent and provides the scientific basis for a number of modern approaches and state-of-the art methods for monitoring the environment, social behavior and human expectations concerning protection of the environment. The book approaches these issues from the perspectives of various disciplines, from physics to the social sciences, and highlights both current challenges and future prospects. On 1 January 2016, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – 12 of which involve taking action on climate change – officially came into force. To achieve sustainable development, it is and will remain crucial to harmonize three interconnected core elements: economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.

Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) has emerged as a critical framework for addressing global challenges in the 21st century. As we navigate complex environmental, social, and economic issues, the role of education in fostering sustainable practices becomes increasingly paramount. This edited volume, Education for Sustainable Development: Perspectives and Practices, seeks to illuminate the multifaceted nature of ESD through diverse perspectives and practical examples from around the world.

This book presents ideas for strengthening the foundations for transformational change in polar and global education leadership in all stages of the education process. Despite being an established concept endorsed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is still not in the educational mainstream but is vital in mitigating against the intensifying impacts of global change and adapting to the shifts that have already occurred. Drawing on examples from real world projects in the United States, Germany, Mexico, Japan, Peru and Greenland, this book assesses the new educational strategies, pedagogies and technologies which have been adopted by polar educators to stimulate students’ interests in sustainability and re-orient education to global citizenship science. The experiential nature of the pedagogies shown in the case studies and educational activities builds background knowledge of cutting-edge research and empowers participants to communicate authentic research practices and show how data collection in the polar region is applicable in other parts of the globe. Highlighting the many ways in which educators for global citizenship can have a decisive role in transforming individuals and society, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars of climate change, education and Arctic studies. It will also be a valuable resource for professional educators working in ESD.

This book presents a systems thinking approach in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals for sustainable national development in vulnerable countries. Systems thinking is a process for understanding the interrelationships among the key components of a system; this book illustrates sustainable development as a system. Key environmental issues are discussed showing their relationship to socioeconomic aspects of development, in the light of increased climate threats and environmental disasters.

This book documents and disseminates experiences from a wide range of universities, across the five continents, which showcase how the principles of sustainable development may be incorporated as part of university programmes, and present transformatory projects and programmes, showing how sustainability can be implemented across disciplines. Sustainability in a higher education context is a fast growing field. Thousands of universities across the world have signed declarations or have committed themselves to integrate the principles of sustainable development in their activities: teaching, research and extension, and many more will follow.

Environmental management is a wide, expanding, and rapidly evolving field, affecting everyone from individual citizens to businesses; governments to international agencies. Indisputably, it plays a crucial role in the quest for sustainable development. This comprehensively updated second edition explores the nature and role of environmental management, covering key principles, practices, tools, strategies and policies, offers a thorough yet understandable introduction, and points to further in-depth coverage. Among the key themes covered are: sustainable development proactive approaches the precautionary principle the ‘polluter pays’ principle the need for humans to be less vulnerable and more adaptable. Reflecting the expansion and evolution of the field, this revised edition focuses strongly on sustainable development. There has been extensive restructuring to ensure the book is accessible to those unfamiliar with environmental management and it now includes greater coverage of topics including key resources under stress, environmental management tools, climate change and urban environmental management. With rapid expansion and development of the subject it is easy for those embarking on a course of study to become disorientated, but with its well-structured coverage, effective illustrations, and foundation for further, more-focused interest, this book is easily accessible to all.

An in-depth review of sustainable concepts in water resources management under climate change Climate change continues to intensify existing pressures in water resources management, such as rapid population growth, land use changes, pollution, damming of rivers, and many others. Securing a reliable water supply—critical for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—requires understanding of the relation between finite water resources, climate variability/change, and various elements of sustainability. Water, Climate Change, and Sustainability is a timely and in-depth examination of the concept of sustainability as it relates to water resources management in the context of climate change risks. Featuring contributions by global authors, this edited volume is organized into three sections: Sustainability Concepts; Sustainability Approaches, Tools, and Techniques; and Sustainability in Practice. Detailed chapters describe the linkage between water and sustainable development, highlight the development and use of new measuring and reporting methods, and discuss the implementation of sustainability concepts in various water use sectors. Topics include localizing and mainstreaming global water sustainability initiatives, resilient water infrastructure for poverty reduction, urban water security for sustainable cities, climate actions and challenges for sustainable ecosystem services, and more. This important resource: Reviews contemporary scientific research and practical applications in the areas of water, climate change and sustainability in different regions of the world Discusses future directions of research and practices in relation to expected patterns of climate changes Covers a wide range of concepts, theories, and perspectives of sustainable development of water resources Features case studies of field and modelling techniques for analyzing water resources and evaluating vulnerability, security, and associated risks Discusses practical applications of water resources in contexts such as food security, global health, clean energy, and climate action Water, Climate Change, and Sustainability is an invaluable resource for policy makers water managers, researchers, and other professionals in the field, and an ideal text for graduate students in hydrogeology, climate change, geophysics, geochemistry, geography, water resources, and environmental science.